Vehicle Surveillance

Foot surveillance is often used in conjunction with vehicle surveillance if it is likely that the target will use a combination of foot and vehicle transportation. Vehicles used for surveillance are generally inconspicuous in appearance and of a subdued colour. Frequently, the inside light is switched off so that it will not illuminate the inside of the car when the door is opened. Vehicles will have two or more people in them so that if the target parks his or her vehicle and walks away, the surveillance can be resumed on foot while the driver remains with the vehicle.

Sometimes it will be necessary for surveillants to break traffic regulations to avoid losing you. If you see a vehicle run a red light, make an illegal U-turn, travel over the speed limit, or make dangerous or sudden lane changes in an apparent effort to keep up with you, you should be suspicious of that vehicle.

Surveillants may disguise their prescence by changing seating arrangements within the vehicle, putting on and taking off hats, coats, and sunglasses, changing number plates and turning off onto side streets then turning back to resume the tail.

People who have well established routines permit surveillants to use methods that are much more difficult to detect . If, for example, you leave the office at the same time each day and travel by the most direct route to your home or if you live in a remote area with a few or no alternate routes to your home, surveillants have no need to follow you all the way to your residence.
 

Detecting Vehicle Surveillance

The most effective methods for detecting most forms of vehicle surveillance are:

  1. Making a U-turn where it is safe to do so
  2. Making a turn to the right or left (in general, right turns create greater complications for surveillants because of oncoming traffic that might delay a turn)
  3. Going through a traffic light just as it is turning red
  4. Stopping just beyond a curve or hill
  5. Circling around the block

In each case, watch for the reactions of any vehicles that you may suspect. Any vehicles that make unusual manouvres should be carefully noted. Do not forget to check for motorcycles or motorbikes, since in many parts of the world they seem to be favoured by surveillants because they move easily through heavy traffic.

 

Stationary Surveillance

Stationary surveillance is probably the most commonly used as most attacks take place near the residence, because that part of the route is least easily varied. Most people are more vulnerable in the morning when departing for work, because morning departure times are more predictable than are evening arrivals.

Many surveillance teams use vans with windows in the side or back that permit observation from the interior of the van. Often the van will have the name of a shop or utility company to provide some pretext for its being in the area. The driver may park the van and walk away, leaving the surveillance team inside.

Where it is not possible to watch the residence unobserved, surveillants must come up with a plausible reason for being in the area. The types of ruses used are limited only by the surveillant's imagination. Some of the more commonly used covers are car repairs due to engine trouble or a flat tyre, door-to-door sales, utility repair crews, lovers in a park, walking a dog, construction work, or sitting at a cafe. Women and children are often used to give a greater appearance of innocence.
 

Detecting Stationary Surveillance

Some things to check for are parked vehicles with people in them, cars with more mirrors or mirrors that are larger than normal, people seen in the area more frequently than seems normal, people who are dressed inappropriately, and workers who seem to accomplish nothing.

If you become suspicious of a van, note any information printed on the side of the van, including telephone numbers. Check the telephone book to see if such a business exists, or call the number. Make a habit of checking the neighbourhood through a window before you go out each day. Consider photographing any unusual individuals or activities, discreetly if possible.

Detecting surveillance requires a constant state of alertness and, therefore, must become an unconscious habit. A good sense of what is normal and what is unusual in your surroundings could be more important than any other type of security precaution you could take.

 

This information provided by the Terrorism & International Family Security website